By now, you understand that video content is the future of marketing. However, understanding and implementation are not the same. There are plenty of high-profile sources out there that have gone on record highlighting the importance of video for brands. There are also plenty of brands that still aren’t using video as a regular part of their content marketing strategies.

We know that making the switch from written content to video content can be daunting. By following the steps and tips laid out below, you can master these basics and start enjoying the benefits of video content right now.

Implement both in-house and user-generated video strategies

The best video marketing strategies make use of both in-house video and user-generated video. There are some types of videos that only you can create. Brand stories, interviews with people from your company, case studies, and official product “how-to” guides are all going to be in-house projects. However, customer-generated video (which usually takes the form of video reviews and social videos) will deliver a lot of the benefits of other types of video without the production costs. Video reviews improve dwell rates, give shoppers extra information about your products, and offer great social media sharing power. Positive video reviews also double as customer testimonials, which are terrific for improving brand trust.

Figure out what type of video content your audience wants to see

Before you film a second of video, sit down and brainstorm what type of video content you want to create. In order to do this, try to put yourself in the shoes of your customers. What stories do they want to see? Which “customer support” topics or frequently asked questions can you address with “how to” guides or demonstration videos? Could case studies of your company’s projects help you win over new clients? If you feel like there is customer demand for a specific video topic, then the corresponding video will benefit your brand.

Retain the human element

Brands often make the mistake of focusing their video content primarily on things rather than on people. For instance, an e-commerce company might have a product take center stage for the visual portion of a video and then relegate the narration to voiceover. Similarly, a construction contractor might feature shots of machinery or active project footage rather than giving a good amount of time to an interview with the project manager. While it is important to show your product or service in your video, it is also vital to retain the human element. People—their voices, their facial expressions, their body language, and their reliability—will give your video an emotional dimension that connects with customers.

Keep the content short and sweet

Long-form videos have their place in content marketing. For example, if you host a webinar, it’s obviously going to be lengthy. But for the most part, you want to keep your content as short and digestible as possible. One to three minutes is typically the sweet spot. That’s a tight target to hit, so make sure you are utilizing cuts and other editing tricks to keep the video slick and on-topic.

Create a spot on your website where users can browse videos

Too many brands spend time and money on their video content and then just dump it on YouTube. While YouTube is a good place to host your videos, you shouldn’t just upload them to your YouTube channel and then call it a day. You need your videos to be easily locatable to anyone visiting your website for the first time. Build a section of your website where you store all of your videos, or divide video pages into different categories depending on the content. You will reap more benefits from your video content (improved traffic, dwell rate, and revenue) and users will still be able to find your greatest hits on YouTube if they want to.

Start sharing

You also shouldn’t just upload your videos to your site and hope that customers find them. Instead, start featuring and sharing your videos everywhere you can. Post videos on Facebook and Twitter and encourage users to give feedback. Video content is extremely sharable, so you should see good numbers of likes and retweets on these posts. You can also make videos more visible on your website by featuring a few of them on your homepage or embedding them in your email newsletters to improve their reach.

Watch the metrics

Before you implement video reviews or start posting video content you have produced in-house, take note of your website and social media metrics. What do your dwell rates or conversion rates look like? What sort of traffic is your written marketing content getting? How many social followers do you have? How do your posts do on Facebook or Twitter when you share text-based content? Once you’ve implemented video, track all of these metrics and see how they change. You need to look at view numbers for your videos and stats about how many customers make it all the way through your videos. Comparing your site and social media performance before and after video content will give you a sense of just how much video is helping your brand.